CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Fifty-seven years after serving in the Vietnam War, Boston native Michael Cunningham has never forgotten his brother in combat, Staff Sergeant Jerry Auxier, of Dixie, West Virginia.
They shared the same company but served in different platoons. On one fateful evening, a U.S. helicopter bringing supplies to the company was planted with a 500-pound explosive that detonated right as the aircraft landed. Three men from the company died, while a dozen more were injured.
However, Staff Sergeant Auxier was missing reported missing and has been for 56 years—a reality Cunningham has carried with him ever since that night.
“He’s been missing for 56 years, I’ve had 56 years of life since he’s been dead,” said Cunningham in an interview with 12 News.
Although Cunningham and Auxier weren’t that close while serving our country, they were bonded for life by their experience through the war, which led Cunningham to go back to Vietnam 49 years later and search for his comrade’s remains.